A Midday Train to Oakland & Plank Restaurant Jack London Square #Amtrak #JackLondonSquare #Travel

My teenager and I took a midday train to Oakland. It was a first for us both riding Amtrak and an adventure for sure! We started in Roseville; we took an Amtrak bus from Roseville to the Sacramento station. We easily found the correct platform to board our train to Oakland. 

Not only did we avoid the traffic and stress of the Sacramento to the Bay commute we experienced a new perspective on the way there. We went below spots we previously were on top of, saw behind the Chocolate factory that we have seen hundreds of times, side by side to the ocean at ground level in some places seeing local fishermen and wildlife. Heck even some of the graffiti was amazing! 

We watched people along the way get on and off at their stops. Some looked like college students from Davis and Berkeley, other looked like commuters to work and lots of people looked like they were also on an adventure. We were headed to a wedding.

If you are trying to get to San Francisco city itself, you will not get to see Jack London Station in Oakland. You would be getting off at a few stops before and taking the Amtrak Bus to the city. We however needed to be in Oakland. Jack London Square was our first place to visit after getting off the train, after taking our luggage to the hotel of course. I try to teach my teenager to be travel savvy like don't wear your flashy jewelry, don't put on headphones and keep your face in your phone (plus you will miss the cool stuff if you're not fully paying attention to the experience) and to never put your luggage in the trunk the wander off to explore. These to me are simple ways to stay situational aware and still enjoy your time. But if you do need to leave luggage in the car in any big city its best to park in a paid parking garage.

One of the days we were in Oakland there happen to be a Farmers Market at Jack London Square located across the way from the train station. I was delighted since I love Farmers Markets! We also discovered while walking the market many of the great restaurants located in Jack London Square. Sadly, one of the restaurants we visited is now closed so I won't include that info BUT thankfully a very vibrate open air seating place Plank is still there and thriving.

While waiting for our train that would not arrive for a few hours we decided to sit down and enjoy brunch at Plank. My son being the teenager he is ordered Mac N Cheese with Streak.

I opted for a sweeter option by ordering the Churro Waffles with strawberries and chocolate with a pink lemonade to drink.

We had delicious food, it was a beautiful day, and our server did not make us feel rushed. It was wonderful! We sat there with our luggage and enjoyed watching sports on the big screen TVs outside. I did notice on the dessert menu that they had a NEW lemon-flavored dessert. I under no circumstances cannot try something lemon flavored that I have not tried before and being in vacation I splurged. It was WELL worth the money. Lemon Tres Leches Cake was soooooo good! Even topped with blackberries it was divine!

After hanging out at Plank we decide to check out the arcade a bit then head back to Jack London train station. It is so architecturally beautiful inside. The high ceilings, shiny floors and huge windows filled the space with light. It was so clean inside as well as super clean bathrooms. 

I found some stowaways in my backpack, it was a Monday so hopefully Garfield did not mind being on vacation. 

The Jack London station had maps to show you how the different train lines can take you all over California. The rails of adventure definitely are calling to my heart to travel by train more.

The staff was super friendly and the space calm and inviting. We were able to wait inside comfortably for our train since they had info boards and announcements about arriving and departing trains. Also, a vending machine for grabbing a water before boarding was helpful.  

For our train ride back, we did not need to take a bus. This train took us all the way back to Roseville where our epic journey had begun. I oddly did not take as many pictures while on the train than I thought I had; I attribute that to being caught up in enjoying the scenery. I had to comment when I saw cows, make sure my teenager looked at the cows and wowed at how close to the oceans edge we were traveling. It was an easy was to travel from the Sacramento area to Oakland and it stopped at other parts of the Bay Area. If you are looking for a new way to see the places you have before I say, take a train you will be delighted! I look forward to the next epic train adventure my teenager and I go on. 

Homeschool Fieldtrip San Francisco Zoo & Gardens #SFZoo #California #Homeschool

 *Hosted guests of the San Francisco Zoo

I LOVE the San Francisco Zoo. It is a beautiful place with amazing animals. The landscape, buildings, park playground and the food make this place more than a home for the animals, its a destination if you are visiting the Bay Area. 

We are a homeschool family (long before the pandemic) and I try to find ways to make what my son learns in books also an experience in life. This is why I love Zoos and what they do to educated children about animal conservation. I feel like kids seeing these wonderous animals in person will help them further understand why we must conserve the land of these creatures. 

My son LOVES and I mean LOVES Giraffes!! Anytime we can make a visit to a Zoo they are the first animal we check out. We enjoyed a close up visit with an adorable giraffe that made my son so happy. We also learned why they have dark colored tongues, its like sunscreen to not get a sun burn. We were standing in our group circle for this close encounter so he was all ours for a few moments. The Zoo created spots for families to stand in (they are painted on the ground) so people can keep a safe distance.

Educational opportunities are all over the park on signs and posters.

The Eastern Lowland Gorillas are one of my favorite animals to visit at the SF Zoo. I could sit there for hours watching them interact with each other. The silver back is magnificent to see in person and the antics of the other gorillas is adorable! We watched them toss blankets at one another and take turns sitting in a cozy bucket.

As a Californian, bears have a special place in my list of favorite animals. The California Grizzly Bear is our state animal and also on our state flag. The strength and size of the bears leave me in awe to see one close up. Watching one casually play in a mini lake was amazing to see.

We also saw a Mexican Gray Wolf, American Black Bear, Scarlet Ibis, Rhino, Zebra and so many other magnificent animals. We did not see the whole Zoo this trip since this place is HUGE but it is also a great reason to go back and see more of the animals.

THE FOOD. I did not expect the food to be so delicious or have so many options. Our chef was so nice and prepared our food right there fresh. My husband and I ordered the 100% Grass Fed burgers and our son ordered a meatball sub with of course mac n cheese on the side. They maintained safety by having us wear our masks indoors and eat outside on the wooden picnic tables. The Zoo is so beautiful that I prefer to eat outside, you will even get to see all the peacocks walking around as you enjoy your meal.

Back in 2013 my son was the first kid to play on the San Francisco Zoo Elinor Friend Playground. We visited the playground as guests and WOW was it cool! We of course had to take the time to play after we ate. 

Slide 2021 (he doesn't need my help up there anymore!)

Slide 2013 (he is so little and this must have seemed huge to him)

The playground is awesome. It has many places for parents to sit, a squishy ground to help in falls and bumps, different themes for each playground area and hand sanitizer stations too. My son played on the swings, went down the slides and we enjoyed the beautiful cool day outside.

We have a tradition to our Zoo trips that we always leave with a stuffed animal. We visited the gift shop and found a giraffe stuffed animal that we did not already own (this is tough to come by when your kid has dozens of them lol).

Welcome to our herd, Mort the newest stuffie to join our crew.

We always enjoy our visits to the SF Zoo. It is an experience in learning about animals, plants and conservation. All mixed in with a fun playground and even a train ride. We definitely rode the train ride, it is a lovely way to see part of the park and a rest for your legs. Our favorite, the carousel was not running that day but hopefully it will be next time.

Antique Trove and Letters from the Past #antique #Roseville #oldisnew

I absolutely LOVE Antique stores! I am a huge lover of History and an antique store is a time capsule of everyday life. I could spend hours in a store. Some of my favorite items are photographs, letters, jewelry and trinkets. These personal items are a window into time of someone's life that was already lived. There is a depth to that type of item that I am drawn to. I always wonder what is the story behind the item.

I recently decided to go to a local antique store that I have no clue why I had not gone before. I had made assumptions that it being a huge as a warehouse that it must not be as intimate of a store like ones I have previously visited. But I was so very wrong! The Antique Trove in Roseville CA is a treasure hunting delight. 

The store is huge and divided into little booths that are ran by individual sellers. Almost like an indoor market. The sellers are not at the booth so you can spend as much time as you like browsing the items without being interrupted. Each item is labeled with a price so no need to wonder how much they are asking. The variety of items in the store was amazing. 

I went into the store looking for a birthday present for myself. I took my husband and son with me and they had as much as a wonderful time as I did. They focused on the old toys, movie posters and man cave items.

As we wandered I was drawn to a shelf with old dishes and greeting cards on it. I spotted a small bundle of letters. Oh the curiosity of what was in the letters beckoned me to buy it! I took a picture of it and told myself if I still wanted it after looking through the store I would go back for it. I definitely went back for the letters to purchase. The city on the envelope is what made me have to buy them. Pasadena holds a special place in my heart as having so many joyous childhood memories there and also hosts my favorite annual parade.

I have only opened two of the letters so far, I don't want to rush my historical experience. The first two are correspondence between a Mother and her daughter. The letters are from the 1930's and I have cried a few times reading  a glimpse into the life of these two women. Letter writing is a lost form of communication, I find it beautiful!

I am planning to try to find the people that are related to these women and offer them back a piece of their history. I know myself I would love to have a letter written by one of my relatives, especially my Grandmother. 

What has been your favorite find at an Antique store?

Meeting Stan Lee in San Francisco #StanLee

When we had the chance last Fall to meet Stan Lee in person at a charity event at a San Francisco CA  I took off of work and we drove there just in time to get in the growing line of people waiting outside. My heart panicked a bit when a guy with a clip board was checking if people in line had prepaid for the event! Thankfully they still had a few spots left to meet him for that day purchases. My son was dressed in his Spider-man costume and we grabbed one of our classic Spider-man comic books from our collection to have signed. This was a first time meeting with Stan Lee for our family, we were elated to meet the comic legend!! My son has started writing his own comic books but would not let me post them here in case he's famous one day as he says, he did offer to sell me one though!

Amazing Fantasy Comic store held the event at their tiny store in San Francisco. It created an intimate atmosphere as each person took turns going inside the store to take a photo and get an autograph. The buzz outside the store was awesome as people passing by tried to get a peek at Stan Lee and the people who just met him were comparing and showing off the items they brought for him to sign. We all shared stories of Stan Lee, the Marvel Universe, comics in general and all the nerdy geekness of being a fan, it was epic!

Being in San Francisco is always a day trip for us and we made the most of it by visiting the beach where I may have possibly let my son swim in the ocean while wearing his Spider-man costume. My son told me Spider-man defends New York and he could defend California!!

No trip to S.F. is complete without a clam chowder in a bread bowl for dinner. We stopped by Boudin bakery for ours and had to go say "hi" to the seals on Pier 39. It was a perfect day meeting a legend with the people I love!!